Manual:Infantry Manual:History Traditions

History of the Infantry
On nearly every Federation world, there has been some force of individuals who were tasked with carrying warfare to the enemy personally. They were called different things, and performed their tasks differently, but the aim was all the same; almost.

Klingons, ancient Vulcans, and Andorians fought wars often for the sake of romantic needs. War was an art to enjoy. Innovations were geared to making war enjoyable. One would have expected the synthesis of infan-try warfare to begin here, but it did not.

In all of these cultures, individual warriors sought glory for themselves and their clans. The individual element to war precluded organizing into administrative echelons for practical purposes, as that would defeat the “purpose”. Thus, strategy and doctrine in personal combat advanced very slowly on these worlds.

On another planet, however, something strange and terrible happened. War evolved not as an art, but as a science. This happened on Earth. Initially, in this planet’s prehistory, wars were fought much the same as on the Klingon or Andorian worlds, but the Terran model then began to differ.

Phalanxes & Legions
Infantry appeared on Earth with the advent of organized societies in the 3rd & 2nd millennia BC. The most powerful early infantry were the Greek Phalanxes and Roman Legions. These foot soldiers fought in dense groups while engaging their enemy with spears and swords. In China, during the Warring States period, in-fantry’s numbered in the hundreds of thousands. These armies utilized specialists in branches and organized echelons to fight in concert. Individual glory or honor took a back seat to the common cause of national victory. Because the armies fought as a team and not as a mass of thugs with a mass of individual champi-ons leading them, they destroyed nearly every foe they fought.

The Dark Ages
The defeat of the Roman infantry by barbarian cavalry in 378 AD heralded a thousand-year period during which infantry took second place to the cavalry. The invention of the stirrup in 550 AD advanced the cavalry even further and relegated the infantry to the background.

The Resurgence of Infantry
In the 1300’s several technological innovations led to the resurgence of infantry; among them the longbow, pike, halberd, crossbow, & gunpowder. These inventions meant foot soldiers could unseat and, therefore beat the venerable cavalry, and the movement of infantry back to the forefront began in earnest.

As guns began to replace swords & lances; the infantry again became the primary fighting unit. By the era of the standing or permanent army in the 17th century, foot soldiers were armed with musket & pike. The infan-tryman was meant to be a mindless brick in a human wall that advanced toward the enemy in a long line, fir-ing all the while. This technique was perfected by Frederick II of Prussia in the mid-18th century.

Into the Bushes
During the last of the French and Indian Wars (1754-63), new tactics were borrowed from the Indians by the American colonists. Troops under British General James Wolfe included regiments of specially trained scout-ing and skirmishing units using flexible tactics that took advantage of any available concealment. These troops regularly overcame larger French units that continued to use the more rigid formations. During Ameri-ca’s Revolutionary War, these tactics were used to great effect by Colonial Rebels to defeat larger, better equipped, and better-trained British units. The days of the line formation were numbered.

The US Civil War
In the 19th Century infantry tactics were forced to change to cope with new technology. As weapons became more accurate and effective, infantry had to spread out and dig in to make itself less vulnerable. By the time of the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), hand grenades, barbed wire, and repeating rifles made mass attacks ineffective. Troops began to attack in waves: one wave raking the enemy with fire while the next scrambled toward the opposition.

World War I
In the 20th century, as weapons became more sophisticated, many expected the infantry to become obsolete. In spite of the many innovations in transportation, communication, and weapons, however, the foot soldier played a major role in the battles of World War I. The practice of “digging in” hit its pinnacle during this conflict when massive battles were fought from and for complex systems of trenches throughout the French country-side. The advent of the tank and aerial bombardment, however, quickly destroyed this concept, and once again the infantry had to be on the move to survive.

World War II
Technology advanced rapidly during the second half of the twentieth century, but still the infantry prevailed. No matter how complex armor and air power became, individual soldiers were still required for taking and holding territory and rooting out enemy resistance. During World War II two important advances were made in the deployment of these ground forces, however. The first, amphibious assault was perfected by the United States Marine Corps in the South Pacific. Also of great importance in the European theatre was the perfection of the Airborne Assault, initially an invention of the Germans but ultimately used to greatest effectiveness by the allies. In fact, the largest air-borne operation of the century, Operation Market Garden, although a failure, nearly broke the German front lines and proved the potential power of air-borne infantry.

Desert Storm: Infantry Enters a New Era
In 1991, the United States and the United Nations Coalition forces assaulted Iraq, and Iraqi troops in occupied Kuwait, with a massive high-technology aer-ospace campaign. Unlike previous wars, the massive commitment of ground forces was absent until well into the conflict. The end result was the most lop-sided victory in Terran military history tens of thousands of enemy dead with less than a thousand allied troops dead and wounded. After this demonstra-tion, military commanders worldwide began to wake up and realize that the old model of war fighting had been swept aside; small numbers of well-trained and well-armed troops could utterly defeat a less advanced larger force quick-ly and with low casualties. Although many historians argue that the Persian Gulf War was an aberration in warfare in true terms, no one could deny the effect that it had on military thinking.

A New Century: A New Infantry
Following the Eugenics Wars and another world war against China, the people of the United States had few aspirations to continue in the role of world leader. The European Hegemony came to the forefront of world politics and the U.S. stayed out of world affairs save for protecting its allies and its overseas economic interests. The U.S. military continued to retool and revamp its forces under tighter and tighter budgets, though, which made their armed forces some of the most highly trained and efficient the world had known. Masses of poorly trained infantry were a thing of the past. Emphasis was placed on better-trained soldiers with powerful equipment. By the time Vulcans made first contact with the human race, the U.S. Marine Corps required a college degree for all of its applicants, and had a force of only sixty thousand active.

The Colonial Marines
When the Mega Corporations began colonizing other planets, they needed trained fighters to protect and police their colonists. They would create an ad hoc, disorganized military organization. Thus, the Colonial Marines were born. Formed on a model of several of Earth’s ground forces (most notably the United States’ Army and Marine Corps), the Colonial Marines formed the first truly space borne ground forces. No longer were the Marines merely an assault force. They were now responsible for taking a position, holding it and de-fending it for the long run. At the forefront of these planetary operations were the infantry still the only force capable of completely securing any piece of planetary real estate.

MACO
Following First Contact with the Vulcans, on April 4th 2063, the United Na-tions took on a new meaning. No longer was it just an assembly where na-tions could air their grievances; the UN became a fully functioning governing body. Its name would be changed to United Earth (UE). The UE would go on to create Earth Starfleet and absorb the Colonial Marines. There new name would be the Military Assault Command Operation (MACO). The MA-CO would initially be led by General Casey and have training facilities in West Point, NY & Atlanta, GA. When the Romulans first attacked in 2156 on the colony world of Sectis, the MACOs were the first humans to take up the fight. Unfortunately, surprise and overwhelming numerical superiority gave the Romulans victory. But the MACOs on Sectis fought against the odds for longer than the Romulans could have ever supposed—although the ghosts of the Japanese invaders of Wake Island in WWII could have warned them about the tenacity of a skilled infantry. By the spring of 2162, MACO forces had fought the Romulans to a standstill.

Without warp power, the Romulans were dependent on planetary installations and depots to advance. Even-tually, the MACO began to deny them this valuable real estate, and started to take back what the Romulans had gained. In March of 2162 a primarily space borne battle at Cheron led to the ultimate defeat of the Romu-lans, but the Battle of Cheron would not have been possible without the blood and sweat of the MACO Infantry.

Captain Jonathan Archer had a detachment of MACOs on the Enterprise NX-01 to assist in the mission to return the Klingon operative to Qo’noS. They were utilized again when the Enterprise was sent into the Delphic Expanse to make contact with the Xindi. At this time, the unit was led by Major Hayes. The MACO would see action again on the Enterprise when Starfleet tasked Captain Archer with unraveling the Augment Situation involving the Klingon Empire. As part of their duties, the MACO were guard & escort for Arik Soong.

MACO employ weapons different from Starfleet personnel and are usually a few years ahead in development. They use the XM8 Battle Rifle. The rifle has two known variants. One is a marksman and the other is a snip-er rifle variant. In addition to the rifle, they use stun grenades which are similar to old earth flash bangs.

Starfleet and the SFMC
In response to the Romulan Invasion, five separate civilizations joined together to form the United Federation of Planets. The UFP was created as a peaceful and cooperative organization of defense and exploration. However, no one had forgotten the lessons they had learned at the hands of the Romulans. A strong naval force, STARFLEET, thus was created. To take the battle to the ground, the MACO were reorganized as a ground forces element of STARFLEET. The MACO were now the Starfleet Marine Corps (SFMC).

At the heart of the new SFMC is the infantry. The reason the SFMC exists at all today is the infantry, for were it not necessary to take the battle to the ene-my individually no ground forces would be needed at all. The STARFLEET Marines fought the Cardassians at Setlik III.

The legacy of Roman organization and American technical advancement and practical innovation has found its highest expression.

Infantry Traditions
As the SFMC branch with the longest history, Infantry is steeped in tradition and custom. The most notable among these is actually a Corps-wide tradition: that every Marine is an Infantryman first. No matter what their eventual branch and Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), every Marine in the SFMC goes through basic infantry school first.

During Basic Infantry School, all marines are familiarized with the weapons of Federation Allies as well as any weapons used by the interstellar powers that are currently hostile towards the Federation threat.

This is why every Marine, no matter their current branch, may wear black (the Infantry branch color) as their branch color.

The Infantry Motto “Queen of Battle”
Infantry has been known as the “Queen of Battle” since its earliest days on ancient Earth. Akin to the chess piece, Infantry moves in any direction, attacks from any direction, and wields a considerable power not to be underestimated. The first line of the Infantry creed reads, “I am the Infantry—Queen of Battle!”

The Infantry Slogan “Follow Me!”
From the earliest days of the old United States’ ground forces, a traditional motto of the infantry has been “I am the Infantry. Follow me!” Today.

The esprit that this motto embodies is evidenced in a story from the days of Earth’s World War Two. During a savage German advance, a force of retreating American armor came across an airborne infantryman, from the United States’ 82nd Airborne Division, who was digging a foxhole. When one tank crew paused to speak to the man, he said, “Are you looking for someplace safe to park that vehicle?” They replied that they were, and the infantryman told them to park it behind his foxhole because, “I’m the 82nd Airborne, and this is as far as the bastards are going.”

The Infantry Device “Crossed Rifles”
Although they hadn’t used flintlocks in a century, 20th century infantrymen on Earth still had a crossed pair of them on their uniform. The crossed rifles symbolized the era when infantry truly came into its own in modern times. They still do. For even though they haven’t used a chemically fired projectile weapon in centuries, today’s infantryman still wears crossed ri-fles on their uniform.

The Infantry Creed
A modified version of an Old Earth infantry creed, the modern creed reads:

I am the Infantry--Queen of Battle! For six centuries I have kept our Nation safe, purchasing freedom with my blood. To tyrants, I am the day of reckoning; to the suppressed, the hope for the future. Where the fighting is thick, there am I...

'''I am the Infantry! FOLLOW ME!'''

I was there from the beginning, meeting the enemy face to face, will to will. I have seen nations born, divided, and reunited. I have toppled dictators and defended the weak. I have protected brave colonists from the plains to the stars. I have patrolled jungles, beaches, paddies, deserts and skies in the bitter test that belongs to the Infantry. I have answered humanity’s call, I have proclaimed freedom, I have protected the innocent.

'''I am the Infantry! FOLLOW ME!'''

Throughout the Federation, I stand... ever forward. Duty called, I answered. My bayonet... on the wings of power... keeps the peace. And despots, falsely garbed in freedom’s mantle, falter... hide. My ally in the paddies and the forest... I teach, I aid, I lead.

'''I am the Infantry! FOLLOW ME!'''

Where brave men fight... there fight I. In freedom’s cause... I live, I die. From Concord Bridge to Heartbreak Ridge, from Sectis to Setlik... the Queen of Battle!

Always ready... then, now, and forever.

'''I am the Infantry! FOLLOW ME!'''